Bakery Style Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

This recipe is by far the BEST chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made!  Calling for melted and  browned butter it adds a nutty flavor without the nuts and gives this cookies the most soft chewy texture!

I'm soooo excited guys, not only am I bringing you my FAVORITE cookie recipe to date, but this is also a part of The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap!

In true NY Foodgasm style I was a bit of an over achiever, trying a bunch of cookie recipes until I eventually settled on these Bakery Style Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt. Man that title is a mouthful!

So I stumbled across a recipe on Bunny's Warm Oven, the name always makes me chuckle and smile. Anyways, I saw this recipe and I knew I had to try it. I have made chocolate chip cookies MANY times and they are cook, but not chewy. They are usually crunchy and I wanted to make a cookie like that you get at a bakery. Well this recipe delivered and then some. I am guessing the use of melted butter is what really transformed the texture of this cookie. After 15 minutes in the oven, you may not think they are ready, but they are. You let them cool about 10 minutes and you have the damn perfect cookie! PERFECT texture.

#HolidayDetox Part Three: Dinners that satisfy

Part 3 of the #HolidayDetox series explores dinner

Dinner has got to be my favorite meal of all! When I was on WW, I saved liked half my daily point for dinner. I like a big satisfying meal. One that will satisfy my belly, my heart and my cravings. Dinner for me is a comfort and many times is my time for comfort food. But I gotta find a way to trim the calories of these meals that are usually loaded with fat. If dinner is your jam too you are gonna want to read this!

Not only do I have 1 dinner recipe on this post, well I have 2 awesomely easy kick-ass dinners that you can make in your crock pot! SCORE! Sooooo easy! And of course my girl Jennifer from Peanut Butter and Peppers is back with her killer dinner recipes! Check them out after my recipes.

Aside from just the food, here at tips to make your dinner more enjoyable and will also help you eat less! It took me a looooong time to learn this on my own during my weight loss journey, but I have shared them all with you and I assure you if you try some of these tips you will not only enjoy your meal more, but actually eat less.

Chicken pot pie stew with gnocchi

Why is this a Foodgasm?

Ultimate comfort right here. Chicken pot pie! I have kept all that you live about pot pie and made it lowfat and easy! So usually chicken pot pie is literally a pie with a crust. I simplified this a bit, while there is so crust, to satisfy that carb craving I added gnocchi, they act like a dumpling in the stew but they're even better. This pot pie has a great creamy texture and it is full of veggies and chicken and a trio of wonderful herbs. Thyme, Rosemary and Sage come together to beautifully season  this and give it that classic French touch. I would say this will keep you fuller longer than a small piece of chicken pot pie.

What you need

3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1 32 oz. box of fat free low sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon Rosemary
1/2 teaspoon Sage
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 small sweet potatoes, cubed
8 celery stalks, sliced
2 cups baby carrots, sliced
1 large onion, diced
1.4 oz. Chicken Breast, cubed
13 oz. Frozen Gnocchi

How to make it

1- In a large frying pan add 3 tablespoons butter let it melt on medium heat.
2- Add 1/4 cup flour and combine with melted butter.
3- Gradually stir in the 32 oz. box of fat free low sodium chicken broth.
4- Keep stirring on medium heat until it thickens.
5- Add in 1/2 teaspoon Rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon Sage, 1/2 teaspoon Thyme, Salt and Pepper to taste.
6- Put 2 small sweet potatoes, cubed; 8 celery stalks, sliced; 2 cups baby carrots, sliced; 1 large onion, diced; 1.4 oz. Chicken Breast, cubed; 13 oz. Frozen Gnocchi in the crockpot and add sauce to it and mix together.
7- Cook on low for 5 hours.

Nutritional Information 

 

 

 

Chicken Cacciatore

Why is this a Foodgasm?

Does anyone do comfort food quite like the Italians? I recently ordered Chicken Cacciatore from a take out place near my in-laws house for dinner. On paper it sounded simple enough, chicken slow simmered in a white wine and marinara sauce. I want expecting much, but I wanted a lighter option compared to the cheesy, fatty, carb heavy meals usually availible on Italian take out menus. To my surprise it was soooo delicious! I did not at all feel like I missed out by ordering this lighter dish. Sooo I needed I make my own version and make it even healthier and also make it easy to prepare! So crock pot meet cacciatore, your new best friend!

What you need

1.5 pounds chicken breast, filleted 

1 yellow pepper, cut into strips 

1 red pepper, cut into strips 

1 orange pepper, cut into strips

1 red onion, sliced thin

5 baby Bella mushrooms, sliced

1 jar marinara if your choice 

1/2 cup white wine

1 tablespoon olive oil

How to make it

1- Put a base of veggies down place chicken over the top, rest of the veggies, then top with the sauce, white wine and olive oil

2- Cook on high for 4 hours

3- Serve over pasta

Nutritional Information

 

Jennifer's Gorgeous Dinner Recipes

Lemon Infused Shrimp Scampi

 

Mediterranean Grilled Chicken

 

Friendsgiving 2013- Recap, Recipes and Infusions

Friendsgiving 2013 was a a complete success and better than EVER! I wanted to share with you a few pictures, a couple of my recipes and the recipes of the amazing bloggers and chefs that inspire me. They may inspire you as well!

Excuse the less than stellar photos, I had hungry people waiting for me to snap a pic.

Autumn Shepherds Pie

Why is this a Foodgasm?

One of the greatest parts of Autumn is all the awesomely comforting food. Shepherd's Pie is a comfort classic of meat and potatoes that just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. However, the calories and fat packs on the sweater-weather pounds. Yeah, I don't like that part either, but that is why I am here to not only take this up a few notches with flavor, but also greatly reducing the fat! Is it magic? No it's a foodgasm!

So what did I do to achieve this? Let's take it layer by layer...
The meat layer- I took my trick from my magic portobello beef tacos and added lots of finely chopped mushrooms to the mix as well as some garlic, onion and bell pepper. To add bulk to our meat layer, lots of veggies for vitamins and fiber and for FLAVOR! I also used 93% lean ground beef, which can be rather dry, but with all the veggies it makes it much better!!
The potato layer- I used sweet potatoes since they have more nutritional value with lots of vitamins, **but this is the genius** I used some pumpkin puree mixed into it. Not only adding fiber and bulk but also giving it - FLAVOR. I also used light butter and reduced fat milk. You will not miss any of that fat, I assure you!
The cheesey crust- Reduced fat cheese is the answer, fat free is a no-go, not melty enough and lacks flavor!
 

Totally Roasted Eggplant Parmesan

Why is this a Foodgasm?

Once again I am focusing on the simple pleasures in life. You know, those comfort classics that make you feel happy and all snuggley when you had a bad day? We all gravitate to them for several reasons. For me I am half Italian, so this sort of food was always around since my childhood. Eggplant Parmesan makes me think of this simpler time. That time where there was no mortgage or bills and someone else worried about all the day to day needs of my life. It is also incredibly delicious with that perfect balance of acidic from the marinara and the creamy and salty base of the cheese, especially the fresh mozzarella.

Comfort your taste buds without the guilt of breaded fried eggplant cutlets. I just sliced, salted and roasted my eggplant and it had so much rich flavor! Why cover it up with breading? Why add all the fat of frying when you can bring out the natural sweetness of eggplant!

The eggplant and everything in this recipe was actually locally grown and roasted in the oven. See the picture from my farmer's market post, those were some big eggplants for a buck! From the garlic to the eggplant everything was roasted to bring out the natural sugars present in everything- aka making magic happen in your mouth!

Butternut Squash Wontons with an Apple Cider Reduction

Why is this a Foodgasm? Sweet and creamy butternut squash nested in a crunchy wonton and covered in a sweet and spicy apple cider reduction, how can this not be a foodgasm? You will do your own little happy dance when you eat these up!

Yields 12 servings of 4 wontons

Pesto Quiche

Pesto Quiche Crust-astic option

Why is this a Foodgasm? A little pesto goes a loooong way here! Just imagine a nice quiche that is creamy and soft but add in the punch of pesto and you got some taste bud magic! I LOVE the way this came out, sweet, salty creamy with some garlic flavor, YUM! I made this recipe two ways: inside of a ready made pie crust and a lower carb option by using muffin tins and paper wrappers with a slice of potato on the bottom.

Low Carb Individual Pesto Quiches

Yields 8 servings

More Caprese: Caprese Panini with homemade pesto

Why is this a Foodgasm? It pains me to answer this--it is magic in your mouth. The perfect combination of flavors and textures, sweet and salty, acidy and creamy, smooth and crunchy. You got your fresh mozzarella, homemade pesto along with the acid of the tomato all encased in crunchy thin Italian bread! Hooray foodgasm!

This is an 8 point foodgasm (by my estimate since I scooped out the inside of the Italian bread)

Caprese Grilled Cheese

 

Why is this a Foodgasm? Grilled cheese is always amazing...but make is fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and tomatoes (from my garden) and a dash of Romano cheese to give it that salt and you got a gourmet twist on a classic! It is melty, creamy, tomato magic, salty from the Romano and basil sweet....magnifico!

This is an 8 point foodgasm.